hop Robinson presented a petition to the Archbishop of
Canterbury, stating that the palace was in a ruinous condition, and was
too large for the revenues. A number of commissioners, amongst whom were
Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Christopher Wren, were accordingly appointed
to examine into the matter and report upon it. The purport of their
report was that, after taking down "the bakehouse and the pastry-house,
which adjoined to the kitchen, and all the buildings to the northward of
the great dining-room, there would be left between fifty and sixty
rooms beside the chapel, hall, and kitchen." These being judged
sufficient for the use of the Bishop, a license was granted to pull down
what was superfluous and put the rest into better condition.

However, in 1764 Bishop Terrick began a further extension and
rebuilding, and it is to him we owe the idea of the second quadrangle or
courtyard. He died too soon to complete his project, and left only the
western wing of the new courtyard, but his work was carried on by his
successor, Sherlock. The design was distinctly good, particularly for
that age of debased taste. Engravings of Sherlock's palace show
battlemented angle towers, and a recessed main building which is very
picturesque. In the southern wing he placed the library and dining-room,
and on the eastern side he made the chapel. When Bishop Howley came into
power, he set to work at once to alter the palace of his predecessors,
and replace it by something which can only be described as a block. He
levelled the frontage between the towers, and cut off the battlements,
and made the building much as we see it now, with the exception of the
modernization of some of the windows. Howley then converted the building
made for the chapel into the library, which it still remains. It
includes the famous collection of books made by Bishop Porteous. The
rooms on the south side became under Bishop Howley's modifications the
dining and drawing rooms, and the great hall he used for a chapel.

It was not until 1867, under Bishop Tait, that the present chapel was
opened. It is connected with the main building by a passage, and stands
on the river side of the palace. It was designed by Mr. Butterfield, and
is bright and well proportioned. Behind the altar at present stands a
reredos of carved wood with a representation of the Crucifixion.

The palace grounds have been considerably curtailed by the formation of
the public park, which now bounds